The NonProfit Times - October 1, 2008 - (Page 1)

The Leading Business Publication For Nonprofit Management • www.nptimes.com • $6.00 U.S. October 1, 2008 Near Miss & Direct Hit Charities going dry as donors lose interest in storm recovery fundraising BY MICHELE DONOHUE AND MARK HRYWNA I American Red Cross volunteer Jan Frost holds three-week-old Destiny Sibley at the Gus Young Red Cross Shelter in Baton Rouge, La. t’s shaping up to be a repeat of the 2004 hurricane season when one storm after another battered the United States, giving relief agencies little time to come up for air. In early September, Hurricane Gustav slammed into Louisiana, leaving large parts of the state without power and damaged by high winds and torrential rain. Just as relief agencies around the Gulf Coast region began assessing the impact of Gustav, Hurricane Ike swooped in and pounded parts of Texas by the middle of the month, leaving millions without power and some areas underwater. But, donation coffers remained bone-dry. This year’s hurricane season could be second only to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 when it comes to the cost of relief efforts. During the 2004 hurricane season, the American Red Cross (ARC) spent $125 million, and more than $2 billion responding to Katrina and Rita. But the national ARC has raised only $10 million and other agen- cies aren’t having much luck either. “Since Gustav, how much I’ve gotten in donations is zero,” said Margaret Trahan, president and CEO of United Way of Acadiana in Lafayette, La. Trahan said the same is true of other United Ways in the area, and United Way of Iberia, St. Landry-Evangeline United Way, and United Way of Southwest Louisiana have decided to create a joint disaster fund together to try to boost donations. “We think that by putting this coalition together people within Louisiana who were not as hard hit by the storm may be more inclined to give and see a vehicle to getting their dollars to the impacted areas.” The media roar that accompanied Hurricane Gustav, with reports that Gustav might mirror the devastating Hurricane Katrina in 2005, quickly downgraded like the storm itself.Now donations are trickling in as if Gustav was an inconvenient rainstorm. With Hurricane Katrina still seared in Charities Dry, page 6 North Dakota AG Donor Intent The Focus Of Suit Investigating The Donors want Princeton to return control of $900 million Grant Institute Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of BY DON MCNAMARA Complaints continue to pile up against seminar firm BY MICHELE DONOHUE he North Dakota Attorney General’s office has issued a warning to nonprofits dealing with Los Angeles-based The Grant Institute and has launched a formal investigation into the company’s seminars in the state. Meanwhile, some of the organization’s former instructors are initiating their own inquiries into the company’s deals. As reported in the June 15, 2008, issue of The NonProfit Times, there have been allegations by former instructors of nonNorth Dakota, page 11 A T six-year-old lawsuit against one of the country’s most prestigious universities by a family that made a significant donation to it is holding the attention not only of the two sides in the dispute but also of many in the nonprofit sector. The case of Robertson v. Princeton University, in which hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake,is being watched as a donor intent case, with each side professing itself to be adhering to the wishes of the donors, Charles and Marie Robertson. A resolution to the case is expected in January. In 1961, the Robertsons gave the university $35 million in stock in the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. grocery store chain (A&P). Marie was an heiress to the A&P fortune and Charles was a 1926 graduate of Princeton. The endowment established the Robertson Foundation, the mission of which is to assist the United States government by preparing graduate students at Public and International Affairs for federal government careers, particularly in foreign and international relations. The endowment today is worth almost $900 million. Marie Robertson died in 1972. Charles Robertson was chair of the board of trustees of the Robertson Foundation until his death in 1981. In July 2002, William Robertson, Katherine (Robertson) Ernst, Robert Halligan, Anne (Robertson) Meier and John Robertson filed suit against the university and the university-designated trustees of the foundation, saying that the university has not used the money in the way designated by Charles and Marie Robertson. William Robertson, Katherine Ernst, Anne Donor Intent, page 7 This Front Page News Is For You We’re increasing your bonus to $50 per active account. Call 1-866-747-7488 or visit cardpartner.com ™ http://www.nptimes.com http://www.cardpartner.com http://www.cardpartner.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The NonProfit Times - October 1, 2008

The NonProfit Times - October 1, 2008 Near Miss & Direct Hit Donor Intent The Focus Of Suit North Dakota AG Investigating The Grant Institute Contents Who...When...Where...How...What? Calendar Kumbaya Tying The Knot Filing Changes Philanthropy Caucus Big Bucks For Capital Campaigns 5 Things NOT To Do In A Capital Campaign Acquisition: Staying The Course ServiceNation Summit Fundraising Guide NPT Jobs Resource Directory

The NonProfit Times - October 1, 2008

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